Pod-Trak was contracted to construct a new substation at Lostock to support the electrification of the line between Manchester and the West Coast Mainline at Euxton.

Initially the works were being delivered for Carillion, who subsequently went into administration in January 2018. The project was stood down for a period and remaining scope was delivered for Murphy.

A challenging project throughout with most of the work being delivered on PAR Forms due to the lack of an AFC. The substation is located at the end of Lostock Station carpark which remained open through the works and all deliveries had to be planned carefully to avoid peak times.

The substation itself was constructed at high level against an embankment which had to be continuously monitored throughout the duration for signs of movement until eventually a retaining wall was designed and installed.

The scope of works included site clearance, 6F5 infill, drainage, duct routes, transformer bases, substation base, fencing, Armco barriers and guardrails. The retaining wall was added to the scope after the substation building was landed which reduced the working area.

A temporary road was constructed to safely get plant and materials to the work area and complete the installation.

A bespoke cable management design was required to securely route the HV cables from the URX at ground level to the routeworks installed within the compound.

To cope with the electrical demands of increased traffic on both the Altrincham and Bury lines, a new substation was built on each line to provide additional power for the Trams.

Pod-Trak carried out a multi-discipline scope at each site by completing the design and installation of both the Civils and OLE at Brooklands on the Altrincham Line and Whitefield’s on the Bury Line. The new substations were located within existing car parks.

Careful planning and consideration had to be taken daily for the public who were using the station. The installation works were similar at each site and included piling, substation bases, DNO bases, OLE bases, buried duct routes, UTX’s, trough routes, fencing, paving, Armco barrier, bollard installation and landscaping on Civils.

OLE scope consisted of steel installation, section insulators, GMI installation, bypass isolators, HV feeds, impedance bonding and section proving. Compound works were all carried out on days
while trackside works were delivered over a series of weekend disruptive possessions and midweek engineering hours. OLE foundations were precast at the depot and installed on site with OTP to assist with time constraints.

Pod-Trak has completed a variance of projects as part of a scheme to modernise how a major transport provider operates on a daily basis.

For one of these projects, Pod-Trak was required to complete the construction of a Signal Equipment Room (SER) base at Amersham as part of the London Underground/TFL 4 Line Modernisation scheme in North West London.

Pod-Trak undertook the construction of all civils aspects of the project; this included:

• A temporary piling mat
• 15 no. CFA piles and pile caps
• Embankment stairs
• The installation of a prefabricated steel frame
• Installation of a walkway
• Installation of all associated drainage

Pod-Trak also carried out all preparation work for SSE including tree protection, haulage roads and setting up of the site compound.

Challenges and Solutions
Restrictions with space on site and its proximity to the main road adjacent meant that all deliveries had to be scheduled between 7:00am and 8:00am with the SER delivery date being the key programme deliverable driving the completion date.

During the piling works, chalk was discovered at 2m below ground level. As a result the concrete was not achieving its design strength and adaptations were needed in order for this to achieve success.

To alleviate this, casings were used to line the auger but this method added time to an already challenging programme. By carrying out some works concurrently with our team, the delay was avoided.

As a saving to the client and to reduce our environmental impact our Project Engineer proposed to use the excavated material to regrade the embankment.

This was accepted by the client and significantly reduced the number of muck away loads that would have been required.

This project consisted of the construction of a new Signal Equipment Room (SER) base at Rickmansworth as part of the London Underground/TFL 4 Line Modernisation scheme in North West London.

The works form part of the wider London Underground 4LM (4 Line Modernisation) programme which involves complex infrastructure works, introduction of new trains and service changes.

Project Deliverables
Pod-Trak were awarded a package of works to construct a new Signal Equipment Room (SER) compound.

The overall Pod-Trak scope included:

• complex infrastructure works; new trains and service changes
• surveys and site clearance, including tree felling
• excavation and groundworks
• concrete base installation including large scale formwork and reinforcement
• retaining wall installation
• troughing and ducting works for electrical and earthing services
• drainage works including water control measures
• fencing installations
• new surface finishes to compound areas
• new access roads

With close collaboration between Pod-Trak, SSE and TfL, the civil engineering scope was completed and delivered one month ahead of the planned completion.

The project received a Beacon award from London Underground for its outstanding performance and commitment to excellent Health, Safety and Quality. This was a great reflection on how both the Pod-Trak and SSE team managed the site.